英字新聞

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 16
EDITORIAL: Put TEPCO under new management as part of restructuring effort
東電処理と電力改革（上）―国民負担は避けられない

■国の責任でリストラ徹底

Japan is beset by an unprecedented nuclear disaster. In this editorial, one of two devoted to the issue, we outline steps the government is being forced to consider to reform the nation's troubled power industry.
Central to this issue is the future of Tokyo Electric Power Co., the embattled operator of Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which faces financial ruin.
　かつてない原発事故を起こした東京電力をどのように処理していくか。それは、電力システム改革への試金石ともなる。
　２回にわけて、私たちの考え方を示したい。

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Few people would dispute that TEPCO has an obligation to shoulder the bulk of the colossal costs associated with the catastrophe at the Fukushima plant.
　福島第一原発の事故にともなう巨額の費用は、東電に徹底的に負担させる。ほとんどの人は異論あるまい。

Clearly, it is impossible for the utility to bear all the costs. There is no doubt that taxpayers will end up footing a substantial portion of the bill through higher electricity rates or taxes.
　しかし、とても追いつかないだろう。最後は、電気料金や税金の形で国民が負担せざるをえない。

This is the reality confronting TEPCO in determining the company's future.
　これが東電処理の現実だ。

But first, let us take a look at the plan the government is drawing up to ride out the crisis.
　政府がいま進めている計画を確認しておこう。

It has decided to inject public funds totaling 1 trillion yen ($12.75 billion) into the company, which has little chance of surviving on its own.
　経営難に陥っている東電に対し、１兆円の国費を資本注入することは既定路線だ。

The huge injection of taxpayer money is aimed at preventing disruptions in electricity supply and turmoil in financial markets.
　電力の供給が滞ったり、金融市場が混乱したりするのを避けるための措置である。

But the Finance Ministry is voicing doubts about the wisdom of the government acquiring a more than two-thirds stake in the company, which would make it directly responsible for the utility’s management. That, the ministry fears, could entail an additional fiscal burden for the government in the future.
　ところが、東電の３分の２超の株式を取得して、経営に直接、責任を負うことには、財務省から慎重論が出ている。将来的な財政負担につながりかねないという理由からだ。

Instead, it wants the government to provide funds to tide over TEPCO for the time being. Under this scenario, TEPCO would remain as a private-sector company and eventually pay back the money it receives from the government.
　国が必要な資金を出すにしても、あくまで「当面」のこと。民間企業としての東電を残し、いずれは返してもらう――。そんな思惑である。

At first glance, this idea is attractive, at least from the viewpoint of minimizing the financial burden on the public. This is because the nuclear damage liability facilitation fund law, enacted to enable the government to help TEPCO pay compensation to victims of the nuclear disaster, is also rooted in this concept.
　国民負担の回避という点で、この理屈は一見、もっともらしい。東電の賠償資金を国が支援するために施行された原子力損害賠償支援機構法も、そうした考え方に立っている。

But does it really make sense, from a long-term perspective, to allow TEPCO to continue to exist in its current form?
　だが、長い目で見て、いまの東電を存続させることは合理的なシナリオだろうか。

For TEPCO to pay back the money, the government would have to maximize the profits the company earns. To protect TEPCO’s monopoly on the regional power market, the government would have to make it almost impossible for other players to enter the market.
　東電から確実に返済させるには、できるだけ稼いでもらわなければならない。それには、東電の地域独占を守り、電力市場への新規参入はできるだけ少なくしたほうが得策だ。

In short, there would be a powerful disincentive for the government to embark on reforming the nation’s electricity supply system.
　つまり、電力改革にはまともに手をつけないということになる。

There would be no momentum for drastic restructuring and selling off power plants.
発電所売却などの思い切ったリストラも進まない。

The TEPCO management would have a strong incentive to minimize the compensation it pays to victims. This could result in further delays in the company’s negotiations with victims over compensation.
　経営陣には、賠償額をできるだけ抑えようという誘因がはたらく。被害者との交渉は、いま以上に遅れかねない。

Still, it would be a tall order for TEPCO to raise the necessary funds to stay in business.
　それでも、東電が必要な資金を捻出するのは至難のわざだ。

The job of cleaning up the nuclear mess could be a financial black hole. As for the costs of decommissioning the crippled reactors, it is not even clear how the melted nuclear fuel could be recovered.
　廃炉費用ひとつとっても、溶け出した核燃料の回収は手法のめどすら立っていない。

It is generally estimated that tens of billions of yen are needed to decommission a reactor that has reached the end of its useful life. But TEPCO must deal with four reactors that have been disabled by the accident. It will take three to four decades to dismantle these facilities. The total bill will most definitely balloon to more than 1 trillion yen.
　ふつうに寿命を迎えた原発でも、廃炉には数百億円かかるとされる。ましてや事故炉が４基だ。最終撤去まで３０〜４０年かかる。総額が兆円単位に膨らむことは間違いない。

The cost will further grow if the two remaining reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant and the four reactors at the Fukushima No. 2 plant are factored in.
　福島第一原発の残り２基と福島第二原発の４基も含めれば、費用はさらに増える。

The company is already under financial strain due to growing fuel costs resulting from expanded use of thermal power generation.
　足元では、火力発電の増強による燃料代の高騰が経営をゆさぶる。

It is impossible to estimate how much money will be needed to decontaminate areas hit by radioactive fallout.
除染の費用は、いくらになるか見当もつかない。

TEPCO has no choice but to cut back on new investment. In doing so, it runs the risk of seriously undermining its ability to provide proper maintenance of its power supply facilities. That, in turn, could jeopardize the electricity supply situation to the Tokyo metropolitan area.
　追い込まれる東電は新規投資を手控えるだろう。電力設備の保守すら危うくなれば、首都圏の電力供給に支障が出る。

If the government wanted to avoid providing public funds to bail out TEPCO by making sure the firm will generate sufficient profits, it would have no choice but to force businesses and households in Tokyo and surrounding areas to accept exorbitant hikes in electricity bills.
　結局、財政負担を回避するため、東電に利益を確保させようとすると、首都圏の企業や家庭に、法外な料金値上げを求めざるをえない。

Another option would be for the government to take control of TEPCO's management, fully expecting to be forced to use taxpayer money.
　もう一方の道は、国民負担を覚悟のうえで、国が経営権を握るルートだ。

The responsibility for the catastrophe rests primarily with TEPCO. That said, the government had been promoting nuclear power generation as a national policy.
　今回の事故の責任は一義的には東電にあるが、原子力発電は「国策」でもあった。

It had prompted the expansion of nuclear power generation, permitted the construction of the nuclear power plant and overlooked the company’s failure to take sufficient safety measures. Nobody would argue that the government shares in the responsibility for the accident.
政府が推進し、建設を許可し、安全対策への怠慢を放置してきた。国にまったく責任がないと考える人はいないはずだ。

In the scandal over cases of AIDS contracted from contaminated blood products and hepatitis B contracted from childhood vaccination, the government has decided to provide financial relief and pay compensation to victims. In doing so, it is taking responsibility for the policy mistakes that led to the public health disasters.
　薬害エイズやＢ型肝炎では、政策責任をとって国が被害者の救済や賠償を担った。

If the government decides to assume ultimate responsibility to deal with the aftermath of the nuclear disaster triggered by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, it would be able to use the process to open up new possibilities for the nation’s power market.
今回の後始末も、最後は国として引き受ける。そこさえ腹を決めれば、東電処理を電力市場の新しい可能性へとつなげられる。

Herein lies the biggest significance of nationalizing the utility.
　国有化の最大の意味は、そこにある。

Obviously, the financial burden to the public should be kept to a minimum.
　もちろん、国民負担は最小限にとどめるべきだ。